The use of water absorbent, wholly synthetic polymers to cultivate shrubs, plants, flowers, and the like is well known. Their uses are known to include their incorporation in growth media such as soil as well as including them in various kinds of containers, vessels and structures so as to increase the ware absorption of the growing medium for cultivation. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,828,295 to Roy discloses a flower holder with a sealing element of plastic material. U.S. Pat. No. 3,524,279 to Adams discloses a tray having polymer-containing blocks in which plants can be inserted for growth. The blocks can be over wrapped with a plastic sheet to retard water evaporation. However, the blocks are brittle and tend to break it jostled or dropped making them difficult to handle or transport. U.S. Pat. No. 3,973,355 to McKenzie discloses a hydrophilic plant growth foam matrix that uses a cross linking polymer as a bonding agent to convert plant growth particles into a self-containing, dimensionally stable growth matrix. U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,508 to DeDolph discloses a polymerized soil plug having a growing plant molded in it using a body of spongy, open-celled, hydrophilic polymer mixed with particles of soil in combination with a synthetic resin to bind the roots in the plug. U.S. Pat. No. 4,241,537 to Wood discloses a polyurethane gel plant growth media in a plastic tube container. U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,105 discloses seedling plants contained in a sealed, sterile dish having an agar gel which may include a growing tray of compost and which can be provided with a cover to form a propagator for transplanting the seedlings from the dish. U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,062 to Hughes discloses a method of utilizing aqueous gels to improve crop yield even in the absence of plant nutrients. U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,768 to Hughes discloses the use of an aqueous gel, including a highly absorbent, cross-linked, acrylic acid, to improve the yield of germinating sod crops and a method for promoting root formation and vegetative growth. U.S. Pat. No. 5,405,905 to Darr discloses an artificial soil plant composition consisting of a polymeric gel formed from a polyacrylamide copolymer, water and a pigment. U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,644 to Weder, et.al. discloses a floral container having a water impermeable external layer and an artificial soil to hold the floral material.
While these prior art containers and growth media provide useful plant growth environments, they do not address nor solve the inherent problem of water evaporation from the super absorbent polymers or aqueous gels employed. Under normal atmospheric conditions, water or moisture will evaporate from such polymers end gels in about a week or ten days unless virtually air-tight containers or vessels are employed. In addition, as evaporation occurs, the gels become reduced in size and the polymers become hardened and crusty creating a virtually impenetrable barrier for the roots of the living plants to take hold and imposing extreme stress on the living plants.